Select your product to confirm this information applies to you
Recording and Saving Footage on a Varia Camera
The Varia™ RCT715 Radar Camera Tail Light and Varia™ Vue Headlight Camera are designed to continuously record footage onto an SD card in a loop. When the SD card becomes full, the Varia will simply write over the oldest unlocked footage. You can prevent clips of footage from being overwritten by locking the footage saved to the SD card.
Frequently Asked Questions About Recording on the Varia
To jump to topics about the recording features of your Varia, select an option from the list below:
How Does the Camera Behave in Different Recording Modes?
Continuous
In Continuous mode, the Varia is always recording. This footage is unlocked by default which means it will be written over when the SD card storage is full. If you save a clip or if an incident is detected, the corresponding 2 minute video will be locked.
Recommended Use: This setting is the most versatile option for a variety of riding circumstances.
On Radar Activity
In On Radar Activity mode, video will only be captured when the camera is activated due to radar threats. This footage is unlocked by default which means it will be written over when the SD card storage is full. The camera will shut down one minute after the threat goes away. Even if you explicitly initiate a manual save while the camera is active due to radar activity, the camera will stop recording one minute after the threat goes away and terminate any saved progress.
The Varia Vue requires a compatible rear radar to be a part of the light network formed on the Edge or the Varia app as it has no radar. If the Vue is set to this mode and no radar is found, it will default to Continuous recording mode.
Recommended Use: This recording mode is best suited to rural roads where traffic is scarce. In this situation, you can expect to see longer battery life from the Varia. However, if you use On Radar Activity mode in an urban setting with lots of traffic, the camera will constantly be turning off and on; you will not have a significant battery life benefit.
Off
In Off mode, the camera will not record any video. It will continue transmitting radar data. Listed below are a couple ways to override the Off mode:
If an incident is detected, the camera will switch to continuous recording mode and a 1 minute video save will be initiated. After the 1 minute video is saved (locked), the camera will remain in Continuous recording mode until you manually switch it back to Off mode.
If you press the camera button on the side of the RCT715 it will switch between Continuous recording mode and Off mode, or visa versa.
There are two ways the RCT715 and Vue can lock footage to keep it from being overwritten:
Incident Recording
When an incident is detected, the Varia will lock the footage 15 seconds (Varia Vue) or 30 seconds (RCT715) before the incident and 60 seconds after the incident is detected. This will produce a video that is locked and cannot be overwritten.
If connected to an Edge® cycling computer with a Light Network formed, the Varia defers to the Edge incident detection algorithm. However, if the Varia is not connected to the Edge as a light, it will use its onboard incident detection algorithm. In this case, the Varia algorithm is more sensitive to false positives than the Edge. This may result in locked footage building up more quickly on the SD card.
If you have "Incident Recording" enabled, the Varia device will always switch to continuous recording mode when an incident is detected. This is to ensure that the device is always recording when it suspects a potential incident. The only way to prevent this behavior is to disable Incident Recording on the Varia™ app.
Footage saved from an incident detection event is saved to the EVENT folder on the SD card.
Manual Save
Footage can be manually saved in a number of ways. Manually saving will lock the footage and store it in the SAVED folder of the Varia, and it will not be overwritten if the memory card is full. Select an option for instructions on triggering a manual save from an Edge cycling computer, the Varia app, or the device itself.
Edge Cycling Computer
NOTE: These instructions vary for different Edge devices. Refer to How to Control the Camera for details on all models of Edge computer.
An Edge cycling computer can be used to trigger a manual save. This requires the Varia to be paired to the Edge and part of a light network. When both a Varia Vue and RCT715 are paired and part of the light network, the Edge will control both devices simultaneously.
While riding, tap the screen to open the timer overlay. This will reveal the Camera Controls, with the following options:
Take a Photo: This will capture a photo and save it to the PHOTO folder of the Varia.
Save a Clip: This will save a 2 minute recording to the SAVED folder, starting 15 seconds before the save was triggered.
Film Ride: Footage will be saved indefinitely until the recording is manually stopped. Each saved file on the SD card will be broken down into 10 minute clips. This option is only available for the Varia Vue.
By selecting the > to the right of the quick access controls, the Camera Controls menu is opened. This menu will show a more detailed view of the controls, as well as a bar showing the progress of a clip that is currently being recorded and saved. The white bars represent the 15 seconds that are included from before the manual save, and once the save is triggered a red bar will advance to show the progress of the saving clip.
Varia App
The Varia app can be used to trigger a manual save from the Varia when paired to the app. If both a Varia Vue and an RCT715 are paired, the camera controls will control both devices simultaneously.
Select the camera icon on the left side of the screen to save a photo, or select the film camera icon in the middle to save a clip.
When saving footage, there will be a REC message shown. The Varia Vue will continue to record and lock footage until it is manually stopped. The RCT715 will save a 2 minute clip, and will write unlocked footage after this point.
Using the Camera Button on the Varia
The camera button on the Varia Vue or RCT715 can be used to manually save footage to the SAVED folder of the device, and prevent it from being overwritten. The camera button is useful for triggering a save on a single device if both a front and rear camera are part of a light network formed on an Edge computer or the Varia app.
Varia Vue
Pressing the camera button will trigger a manual save on the Varia Vue, and footage will continuously save.
Footage will start from 15 seconds before the button was pressed.
Press and hold the camera button for two seconds to stop the recording.
The camera status LED will flash red to indicate that footage is being locked and saved. A solid red LED indicates that unlocked footage is being recorded, and this will be written over as the SD card fills up.
Varia RCT715
Pressing the camera button on the RCT715 will manually trigger a saved clip.
Footage will start from 30 seconds before the button was pressed, and record 90 seconds after, for a total clip length of 2 minutes.
The camera status LED will flash red to indicate that footage is being locked and saved. A solid red LED indicates that unlocked footage is being recorded, and this will be written over as the SD card fills up.
When a video is saved, the default clip length is 2 minutes. The breakdown of the video clip is as follows: The first 15 seconds (Vue) or 30 seconds (RCT715) will be prior to initiating the save, whereas the remaining time will be after triggering the save. This time cannot be adjusted. To save a longer clip from your Varia Vue, select the Film Ride option from your Edge cycling computer, or the record icon from the Varia app to continuously save footage until it is manually stopped.
NOTE: The video clip length will be shorter if you initiate a save immediately on power-up (there is no 30-seconds of footage prior to triggering the save) or prior to power-down (the save will be terminated as soon as you power down the unit).
(top right).
